It is likewise problematic to use 'faith in superstition' as a synonym for religious faith. Superstition asserts both the unprovable and the dis-proven. The religion of many people can be described this way, but religious views which assert unprovable views only are not inherently antagonistic to reason and generally not antagonistic to atheism. Believing "humans has moral value", for example, would be an unprovable assertion, but is not antagonistic in either fashion mentioned above.

It is likewise problematic to use 'faith in superstition' as a synonym for religious faith. Superstition asserts both the unprovable and the dis-proven. The religion of many people can be described this way, but religious views which assert unprovable views only are not inherently antagonistic to reason and generally not antagonistic to atheism. Believing "humans has moral value", for example, would be an unprovable assertion, but is not antagonistic in either fashion mentioned above.

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With respect to the "A possible rebuttal" section; The tone of this section should be taken down to something less negative. The likely person to need to hear it will already be disinclined to hear it, so a more diplomatic wording is called for. This aside, we should attempt to remain as free from vitriol as possible in rebuttal, in that it undermines our integrity to sound like we have a chip on our collective shoulder. When attempting to champion Logos, one must not result to Pathos any more than one should resort to Ethos.

Revision as of 00:57, 11 November 2010

"...motives an atheist may have for arguing against gods and religion."

This seems inappropriate. An atheist need not be anti-religious, and this assumes that the atheist in question is.

"an atheist does not consider religious faith a benefit. In fact, it is the cornerstone of dogmatism"

Similar problem. Religious atheists obviously do consider faith a benefit. Religious faith, likewise, does not need to lead to dogmatism. To be fair, the use of faith to advocate dogmatism is nearly synonymous with religious practice, but is is erroneous to apply this to all religions.

"...people losing their faith in superstition is seen as a Good Thing. "

It is likewise problematic to use 'faith in superstition' as a synonym for religious faith. Superstition asserts both the unprovable and the dis-proven. The religion of many people can be described this way, but religious views which assert unprovable views only are not inherently antagonistic to reason and generally not antagonistic to atheism. Believing "humans has moral value", for example, would be an unprovable assertion, but is not antagonistic in either fashion mentioned above.

With respect to the "A possible rebuttal" section; The tone of this section should be taken down to something less negative. The likely person to need to hear it will already be disinclined to hear it, so a more diplomatic wording is called for. This aside, we should attempt to remain as free from vitriol as possible in rebuttal, in that it undermines our integrity to sound like we have a chip on our collective shoulder. When attempting to champion Logos, one must not result to Pathos any more than one should resort to Ethos.